Marine environment

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are designed to protect Scotland’s seas, marine life and habitats from damage caused by human activities.

We have designated a network of MPAs covering around 37% of the seas around Scotland. This includes inshore and offshore waters.

How MPAs work

There are more than 240 MPAs in Scotland. There are different types of MPA with specific purposes, set up under different legislation. MPAs can be designated:

• for nature conservation
• for research and demonstration
• to protect heritage areas and historic sites like shipwrecks

Scottish Ministers designate MPAs in Scottish waters based on scientific evidence and advice from the relevant Statutory Nature Conservation Body. You can read more on this in the MPA Site Selection Guidelines.

Public authorities protect these areas by reviewing human activities against conservation goals. The Marine Directorate Licensing Operations team oversees this process through licensing.

We can also introduce management measures to restrict certain activities the sites.

The map below shows the full MPA network. The entire network (as of August 2025) is made up of:

• 65 Sites of Special Scientific Interest
• 58 Special Areas of Conservation
• 58 Special Protection Areas
• 36 Nature Conservation MPAs
• 16 RAMSAR sites
• 10 Historic MPAs
• 1 other effective area-based conservation measure
• 1 demonstration and research MPA

Fishing restrictions in Marine Protected Areas

In some MPAs there are restrictions on fishing, to help protect and restore ecosystems.

We are committed to introducing fisheries management measures in existing MPAs where these are not already in place.

Offshore MPAs

Fisheries management measures for our offshore MPAs came into force on 16 October 2025

These measures were developed following extensive engagement with the fishing industry, environmental non-governmental organisations and coastal communities.

Read evidence and advice to inform the measures, wider documents and all associated impact assessments. 

Inshore MPAs

We are planning to run a separate consultation for fisheries management measures in inshore MPAs.

To help develop our proposals we held a series of engagement and stakeholder events in 2019 to 2022. You can read minutes from these MPA fisheries management measures engagement meetings.

Monitoring MPAs

Each MPA has its own objectives which describe what the site is trying to achieve.

Our Marine Protected Areas monitoring strategy will help us to work out whether these objectives are being achieved.

We publish reports for the Scottish Parliament every 6 years updating on MPA progress. The last MPA progress report was published in 2024. 

Contact

Contact: Marine_Biodiversity@gov.scot
Sign up to our bulletin providing updates on work to protect Scotland’s seas. Email the above contact address
Read our marine blog.